I know, I know, I told you I’m eating gluten again, yet I’m sharing another gluten-free recipe. This is a GOOD ONE though, too good to leave out of the blogosphere, so I’m sharing it with you today. I promise, gluten makes it’s grand re-entrance soon!

In case you hadn’t noticed, I really love banana bread. I’ve shared it plenty of times on the blog, and have had to stop myself from sharing it more. My banana bread obsession began back when I was a little girl. We always went to the same family friend’s house on New Years day for a big party, and someone (who it was, I never found out) always brought the same banana bread. I was OBSESSED with it, so much so that I would linger by the table for much of the party, and take piece after piece until I couldn’t eat anymore. Sometimes when you eat so much of something, you start to get sick of it, but banana bread and I will NEVER part.

When I was still eating gluten-free, I still craved banana bread as usual, so when some of our bananas went brown really fast I knew exactly what I had to do! (Side note – has anyone else noticed their bananas getting ripe SO fast with all the hot, humid weather lately?! I can barely eat them before they start to turn all shades of brown.) I found several gluten-free banana bread recipes that looked appealing, but the recipe I ultimately chose looked and sounded so much like real banana bread that it seemed the only way to go.

As hoped, this banana bread was really good. I think if you didn’t know it was gluten-free, you’d probably notice it was a bit different from normal banana bread, but really think nothing of it. It has a slightly different texture, a bit less chewy than normal banana bread, and the taste is slightly less sweet than regular banana bread – not for lack of sugar, but I think because of the gluten-free flour! I can’t tell you that’s exactly the reason, but I think generally speaking, gluten-free flours have a lot more unique flavor than all-purpose flour.

At any rate, I would highly recommend this banana bread. It comes out of the oven beautifully golden brown, moist, and delicious. I especially loved having the walnuts in it. If you know someone who is gluten-free (or you’re gluten-free yourself), this is a fantastic alternative, and it’s really easy to find the ingredients because it’s written for all-purpose gluten-free flour, instead of a tedious combination of gluten-free flours.

Position a rack in the center of the oven. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Butter a 9-by-5-inch loaf pan.

1) In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the flour, sugar, baking soda, and salt and mix on low speed until blended. Add the butter and continue to mix on low speed until well incorporated. Add the eggs, and increase the speed to medium. Mix until smooth, about 30 seconds or so. Reduce the speed to low, immediately add the buttermilk, and gradually bring the mixer up to high speed. Continue to mix until the batter is light and fluffy (a minute or so), stopping once or twice to scrape down the sides of the bowl.

2) Stir in the bananas, vanilla, and pecans just until incorporated. Scrape the batter into the prepared pan and cover loosely with aluminum foil.

3) Bake the banana bread for 1 hour, 15 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the loaf comes out clean. Let the banana bread cool in the pan on a wire rack for 10 minutes. Run a knife around the sides of the pan and then carefully turn the loaf out onto the wire rack. Let cool for at least 15 minutes before slicing. Any leftover bread should be wrapped in aluminum foil or plastic wrap and refrigerated for up to 5 days. (I think ours lasted about 1.5 weeks in the refrigerator.)